After Happily Ever After
by SirenLuna
Summary: A series of one shots of D&E after the series finally. I cried to no end as VD finished but was seriously bereft by the lack of scenes of D&E's life together as humans! It was seriously killing me! So I decided to write some moments as they start lives in NYC as a human couple. There will be good times, trying times & beautiful times but in the end love is forever. Enjoy!
1. Starting Life

_**Greetings! I had to repost this chapter after my hubs made me realize a geographical error on my part. The building is on West Broadway and Broom Street. Not Bowery and Broom Street. I felt like a dope since we've been there so many times but anyway! Sorry! I also cleaned up a couple of typo's I noticed. Thank you for reading!**_

* * *

Damon and I stuck around Mystic Falls for a year to help Caroline and Rik start the school. To this day I think it was most of Damon's involvement was to make sure his best vintages weren't snuck away by Rik in the moving process. Then it was time to say goodbye. My new Jeep and Damon's revived Camaro were packed with our most important belongings as we bid our nearest and dearest farewell's. The rest of the too large to fit in the car stuff had been sent by moving trucks to a storage place outside New York City.

Caroline was all tears and warnings of course. "But you guys don't even have a place in New York yet! I still say you should stay another few months." I looked at her with a knowing grin as she rolled her eyes and corrected herself, "Or forever…"

"That sounds more like the Caroline I know." I said and hugged my best friend. "Bonnie is off exploring the world and you and Rik are doing an amazing job with this place. It's just time Care."

Care sniffed, "I swear to god Elena, if you don't call me the moment you get there, I will vamp speed all the way to Manhattan to trample your ass!"

I laughed, "Yes Mrs. Salvatore." I said only slightly mocking her new role as the Salvatore School's head mistress.

Damon and Rik came out of the front door of the former boarding house. In Damon's arms was a large manila envelope. The two men chuckled as the approached us.

"What's so funny?" I asked as Damon came to my side sporting his telltale mischievous grin.

"Just man stuff,"

"Uh-ha, what's in the envelope?"

"A signed copy of Madonna's playboy issue, thought it would be best that I not forget it here and send one of these witchy kiddies into early puberty."

Caroline cringed. "Ew! How about you burn it?"

Damon looked at her like she had deeply insulted him. "It's Madonna and a signed issue blondie, have you no respect for art?"

I jumped in to derail the budding drama, "Ok, Madonna can ride with you to New York then she goes in the recycling pile, got it?"

Damon took me in his arms and kissed me, "Don't be jealous babe, the material girl has nothing on you."

"Aw, you always know what to say." I kissed him back and whispered, "But she's still compost."

He sighed defeated "Happy girl, happy world." We turned back to Care and Rik,

"So where are you guys staying?" Rik asked with an unusual eyebrow gesture that looked like a taunting challenge more than a question. Odd.

"I rented us a spot in the city while we look for a permanent place." Damon answered, giving Rik a look that read like _silence, I kill you!_ Odder.

"Um, ok not sure whats going on there but we should get going." I hugged Rick.

"You guys drive safe and let us know when you get there." Rik and Damon bro hugged after I went back to Care.

"We will, Care already threatened me thoroughly." I nodded at my best friend.

Never being one to back down, Care nodded her head in agreement "Mm-hm, and I meant it."

We all laughed and Damon as usual made sure our departure was on a sarcastic note. "Ok, Dumbledore, McGonagall, try not to let Hogwarts explode while we're gone ok?"

Rik looked serious "I make no guarantees." Yet another round of hugs later and Damon and I were on the road. After 5 minutes I began to look back on everything we'd been though in this town. It was where we met, fell in love, broke up, got back together. Where we literally died, and came back in more ways than one. Where we met, and said goodbye to so many people who were so important to us. And even though it was centuries apart, it was where Damon and I were both born, where we grew up. Now we were leaving.

My phone started ringing from the holder on my dashboard. It was Damon. Putting him on Bluetooth, I answered, "Hey,"

"Put it away," he drooled

I smirked "Put what away?"

"The crease in your forehead."

He knew me too well, "It's just hard to think of leaving."

His tone went from playful to sweet, "I know baby, but we're starting our lives together. Human lives. Part of being human is leaving home and making your place in the world."

I smiled "You're right. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've mastered this whole being human thing."

"Took some getting used to but I think I'll be writing self-help books and blogging by next week."

That made me laugh. "The day you start blogging is the day I go vegan."

"Hey, don't knock the vegans, I think they have a hold on human immortality. I've already scoped out a few food coop's and organic grocery stores."

"Ok, have fun with your algae and tofu, I'll stick with my burgers and fries thank you!"

Damon signed, "Fries are something aren't they? I seriously have a new appreciation for human food since I lost my Vamp status." I could barely contain my laughter. I could practically hear the satisfied smile on Damon's lips, knowing he had successfully distracted me from my previous mood. "Feel better?" he asked,

"Ya, much. Thanks love."

"Any time, when you feel like you need a driving brake just honk ok?"

"Yea, you too."

"I love you Elena," He didn't say it in the typical emotionless way most guys said it to their girlfriends. Damon uttered those three words with his whole heart. Like it was the first or last time he'd ever have the chance to say them.

"I love you too Damon." We hung up and continued the long drive to New York City.

9.5 hours and 4 bathroom/food breaks later we had arrived in Manhattan NY. I followed Damon to a 24hour parking garage in the West Village. We took out the duffel bags we packed with our immediate essentials and hand in hand my boyfriend walked us to a building on the corner of West Broadway and Broom Street. There was a busy looking bar on the very corner of the building that looked like a cool place to hang out. Maybe that would be our go-to spot eventually.

I noticed the manila envelope Damon had taken from the boarding house under his arm. "What's Madonna doing here?"

Damon shrugged, "Thought you'd like to be the one to toss her."

I rolled my eyes as we arrived in front of a classic looking building. Damon took the keys out of his pants pocket and unlocked the front door. The lobby was all marble and steel beams. The place liked like the perfect combination of modern and traditional. "Wow, this is something." I said admiring the architecture.

"Mm-Hm, wait till you see the apartment." Damon guided us to the old-fashioned elevator and together we rode it to the 6th floor, the top floor of the building. There were only 3 apartment doors on the floor, Damon guided me to the one at the very end of the hall. He opened the door and switched on a few lights.

"After you Madmoizelle," he bowed as he let me through the open door.

"Oh my-wow!" I said looking up at the vaulted ceilings. If I had ever designed my dream loft it would be this one here. The space was massive with floor to ceiling windows, a huge fire escape, fire place open kitchen and upper level that looked like it was constructed for bedroom space. Damon leaned against one of the exposed brick walls as I looked around.

"Oh, this kind of sucks." I said still in awe.

"Pardone moi?" Damon asked confused.

"Well, this is supposed to be temporary while we find a real place. But after this, every apartment we look at is going to seriously pale in comparison."

He stood off the wall, "Funny you should say that." He opened the manila envelope to my surprise pulled out a stack of white papers and a pen."

"I wasn't going to sign these until you saw the place yourself." He handed the papers to me. There were a purchasing agreement for a condo. Damon had applied and gotten approved to buy the loft we were standing in.

Shocked I stared at the words in front of me. "Da… those are not naked pictures of Madonna."

He smiled, "Caught that, did you? I had everything sent to the boarding house so I could surprise you when we got here. So, do you like it?"

"Like? I love it!" I jumped into Damon's arms and kissed him. "Wait, can we afford this?" As a vampire, Damon had endless resources for money. And while he did have one hell of a nest egg to start us off with we agreed to not go overboard and fix our spending with the intent of building our finances though real careers.

"Well… not originally but blondie may have been excellent at haggling the price down to our level."

"Caroline was in on this?" I asked, "But she was devastated when we left."

Damon mocked shock, "Have you seriously forgotten her time as a drama major?"

I laughed and kissed him, "So, this, is it? This is our home?"

Damon bight his bottom lip in a _not exactly way_ , "Well, first you're gonna have to sign these." He handed me the stack of papers and pen. I rushed to the granite kitchen island and started signing away.

"Oh Elena?"

"Hmm?" I asked, completely focused on signing my name on every dotted line I could find.

"Just one more thing."

I turned to see what else he needed and was once again stunned. Damon was down on one knee with a velvet box in his hand. "Damon?"

"Elena Gilbert, from the moment I met you. I knew there was something extraordinary about you. From that day on, everything about you has amazed, enlightened and confused the hell out of me. I fell in love with you from that very first moment. I know what it is to have you and to lose you and I don't want to spend another second of this new short life without you. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

The tears that ran down my face were hot and full of joy. Damon opened the box to reveal a brilliantly cut white diamond in a platinum setting. I could hardly breath as I looked into the sparkle. Still on his knee Damon waited for my answer which was an absolute, unwavering…

"Yes,"

He slipped the ring on my finger and lifted me into his arms. Together we were everything and for the first time in our lives we knew for a fact that nothing could come between us ever again. This was the start of us, after Happily Ever After.


	2. I Do

Planning a wedding, even a small one is a nightmare. From the start, Damon and I agreed not to do anything over the top. For one thing, the people we really wanted there could be counted on two hands.

Jeremy

Caroline

Alarik

Matt

Bonnie

Lizzy

Josie

Out little nieces Lizzy and Josie had school and wouldn't be able to make it and Bonnie was in Africa and wouldn't be back on time. Thus, shortening our guest list even more. The painful part was when we remembered the people who should be there but would only be there in spirit. Stephan being at the top of that list for Damon. He was up there for me as well but above him were my parents. After learning all I had about my father's role in the torturing of vampires, I developed a bitter taste towards him. But in the end, he was still my dad. The man who taught me how to ride a bike, chased monsters out of my closet or from under my bed. Regardless of everything, I still wished they were both here.

In the end, we decided on an intimate roof top ceremony. One of the many perks of our new home was full access to the roof of our building. The second level bedroom area, which was equally massive, had a pull-down staircase that led to the most beautiful view in the city. That would be where Damon and I said _I do_.

Down in our elegantly large bathroom Caroline fussed over every detail.

"I steamed this vail 4 times and it still has creases in it!" she stewed, making her red silk Matron of Honor dress shimmy.

"It's fine,"

"No, it's not fine! This is your wedding Lena. The epic ending of you and Damon as star crossed lovers. Romeo and Juliette never got this but you guys do. Everything should be perfect."

"I hardly think of today as an ending of anything Care."

"You're right but, I just want everything to be perfect for you guys. You both deserve all the happiness in the world."

I couldn't help laughing like an idiot at how sincere she was about mine and Damon's wedding.

"Oh, glad to see that I amuse you, meanie."

"I'm sorry." I said catching my breath, "I was just picturing you at that Miss Mystic Fall's pageant, remember? The year after you won?"

"Ok…"

"Stephan and I had just broken up because I had feelings for Damon. And you looked like the world was going to collapse because you thought Damon was up there with Charles Manson. Now here you are helping me get ready to marry the guy you once hated and are saying we deserve every happiness in the world." My giggling slowly morphed into tears.

Caroline started laughing/crying as well. I said the 'S' word and I knew today was harder on her than most of us being that she hardly had any time with Stephen after they were married.

"I'm sorry Care, I didn't mean…"

"No, it's ok. Stephan isn't here but I know he's still here." Caroline touched her heart. "And in a way, I bet he's with us right now telling us to buck up and get this show on the road."

Someone knocked on the bathroom door, "You guys good?" It was Jeremy. He would be giving me away.

"Just a sec!" I shouted and turned back to the bathroom wall mirror. My dress was knee length with a bustle skirt that poofed out a little but was snug at the waist and bust. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and made from silk organza and lace. My shoes were the same shade of ivory as my dress with bluish-grey jewels sewn on the straps that went around my ankles and toes. They were my something new. My something old was a pin that belonged to my great grandmother that I wore at the center of the dress's sweetheart neckline. Borrowed, was the hairclip I used to hold my vail, thank you Caroline, and blue came out to be my Tiffany blue finger and toe nails. My hair was straight and down and the only jewelry I wore were a pair of pearl earrings that had been my mom and my engagement ring. Simple, elegant, a little fun with the short dress and totally me.

"Ok, let's do this."

Care opened the door and Jeremy took a step back, "Wow,"

"Good?" I asked needing to hear some approval from the only blood family I had left.

"Great." He said and hugged me. "Mom would have cried at least 12 times by now." He said getting misty.

"And dad would have made a crack about the town running out of tissues." We both laughed.

"They would tell you that you're the most beautiful bride the world has ever seen."

"Thanks Jer,"

"Shall we?" Jeremy held out his arm to me. I took a deep breath and looped my arm through his. Together with Caroline leading us, we headed to the roof where my fiancé and the rest of our family waited.

 _ **Damon's POV**_

"Seriously, how long does it take to zip up a dress?" I asked the powers that be. Rik, Jeremy, Donovan and Bon-bon (via facetime) watched me like I was a ticking time bomb. It was genuinely starting to bug me.

"Relax groomzilla, are you forgetting who's with her in the bathroom?" Rik reminded me

I groan and fiddle with my bowtie, it was unseasonably warm for September. "Save me, they'll be down there for a week."

"Most likely," Jeremy said with a chuckle from his perch on the roof ledge.

"Fortunately, your best man came prepared." Rik pulled a flask from his back pocket and handed it to me.

"You are a god," I told my bestie and started to chug. As I came up for air I suddenly felt better. "You didn't happen to bring 10 more of those, did you?"

"I brought a whole case,"

"I love you,"

"But it's not to be opened till after the ceremony."

"I hate you"

"What are you so anxious about?" Donovan asked. "You're about to marry your dream girl."

"Well Donovan, here's the deal. Every single step of the way, Elena and I have been madly in love and have constantly had obstacles in our way,"

Little Gilbert of course, chose that moment to interject his 2 cents. "Actually, you weren't in love the whole time, there was…"

"Silence young padawan. As I was saying, this is the first time that there's no cosmic boot ready to kick me in the nuts as far as me and my girl are concerned and that makes me… what word did you use? Oh yea, anxious."

"So, your worried because there's nothing going wrong in the world? Yea that makes sense." Donovan assessed.

"Actually it makes perfect sense." Rik spoke up taking the flask from me.

"See?" I pointed to Rik while looking back at Matt.

"You're worried that without all the universal drama you two have experienced Elena will final see what a dick you are and walk away." Rik spoke plainly and took a sip.

That wasn't exactly what I was going for but more or less, Rik hit the nail on the head. Still, not cool to put things so bluntly on my wedding day. "You know what Rik, you're fired, give me that." I said taking the flack back and helping myself to another swig.

He laughed. "Come on Damon. Elena loves you, if she was going to walk away, she would have done it already. God knows we've all tried to talk her into it at some point or another."

"Remind me why you were all invited again?"

"Because we all eventually came to see exactly what she sees in you and we love the two of you together."

"Fine you're rehired."

"I thought so,"

"Bon-bon? Anything to put in here?" I asked the iPad with Bonnie's face.

" _Nope, just enjoying watching you all bicker like a bunch of old ladies."_

"Alright boys, bring it in." Rick waived us all together in a huddle. He handed out plastic shot glasses filled with bourbon and toasted. 

"To our boy Damon. The one of us with the most wit, gall, and as far as I'm concerned, the one who most deserves happily ever after. Cheers!" We all drank and tossed the plastic cups over the ledge.

"I better go check on my sister." Jeremy started to make his way towards the stairs.

"Wait," I told him and took out a packet of Listerine strips. "Your sister will kill me" It didn't matter that the kid was almost old enough to drink legally at this point, she still treated him like a 12-year-old. He laughed, rolled his eyes, took a strip and went.

Once he was gone, I was hit with another realization, "Crap, she'll kill us all. Guys!" we each took a strip and went to our places. Music played from inside our apartment and I knew this was it. Suddenly I couldn't breathe. Was this really happening? Elena, my Elena. The love of my life, the girl of my dreams. Was I seriously going to marry her? Was I that lucky?

I saw Caroline first. She looked great as she made her way over, but I needed to see Elena. I needed to look in her eyes to know this was all real. Then I saw her. She looked like an angel in her ivory dress and thin vail over her face and if I thought I couldn't breathe before, I was under water now. It _was_ real, and she would be mine, till death do us part.

Jeremy brought her over to us and Donovan, our officiate, asked what was in my opinion, the dumbest question ever.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" I mean really? Is that question a must ask? But screw it, Elena was about to be handed to me forever. Jeremy lifted her vail and gave me her hand. I couldn't hold back the urge that went through me. So, I held her face and kissed her. A few snickers erupted from the peanut gallery and blondie cleared her throat.

"Um Damon, you're supposed to do that after the ceremony."

I pulled away from Elena only enough to address blondie's comment. "I don't give a damn."

We finally kept some distance between us and Donovan went through the whole song and dance. Rik handed me Elena's wedding band, a ring of pure D color white diamonds, thank you very much.

The ring she picked for me was a platinum band with a row of square sapphires that went around the middle of the ring. As she guided the ring onto my finger Elena whispered to me "They match your eyes." I smiled and my eyes went back to our joined hands.

Looking down at the perfect slender fingers I held, I couldn't help thinking those rings together looked like they were made for our hands. We used traditional wedding vows and it's a good thing because I don't think my brain could do anything but repeat whatever I was told to say. Then we got to the I do's.

Not sure how it happened as I've never been and emotional guy, but upon the moment Elena said her line,

"I do,"

A pool of tears flooded my eyes and ran down my cheeks. Elena's face at my show of emotion was so beautiful and full of warmth I just wanted to kiss her again. But this time I held myself back. It was my turn now.

Donovan asked, "Do you Damon Salvatore, take this woman, Elena Gilbert to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"You bet your ass I do." Everyone laughed.

"Then by the power vested in me by the internet, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife."

I pulled Elena to me and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. Someone popped a bottle of champagne and started spraying it at us but we didn't move. It was perfect. My girl, my wife and our lives every day together would be perfect.

 _ **Off to the side of the beautiful sight, some unseen guests shed some tears on their own.**_

" _She looks perfect." Miranda Gilbert dabbed her eyes with her sleeve._

" _He better take care of her." Grayson Gilbert held his wife closer taking in the sight of their daughter on her wedding day._

" _I think he will" Miranda nestled deeper into her husband's arms._

" _She really does love him, doesn't she?"_

" _Yea, she does."_

" _I wish I could have giver her away."_

" _I know honey, but we're with her, and that's all that matters."_

 _Stephan approached his brother and Elena as they kissed and put his hand on Damon's shoulder, "Way to go brother."_

 _Before he left, he went to his wife Caroline, "I wish I could tell you how beautiful you look today. I love you Caroline," He kissed her cheek and left._

 _Caroline felt a cold sensation on her face and froze. Looking around she saw no one there but knew what had happened. She smiled and closed her eyes._

"I love you too Stephan."


	3. Nothing Short of a Miracle, Part 1

_**Hey Folks!**_

 _ **Here's a nice long one for you! This chapter is going to be a 2 parter just cause I couldn't cover this one shot in one shot. There's just too much I want to do here and doing this in 1 chapter would result in it being like 6,000+ words.**_

 ** _By the way, if any of you are in NYC I highly recommend making a visit to the bar in this story! Its a favorite of mine with a real West Village kind of feel. But the owner I wrote in here is totally fictional even though he's based on a combination of two real people who will remain anonymous ;)  
_**

 _ **I highly recommend not reading this chapter without tissues. Especially at the end... Enjoy!**_

* * *

 _ **Two Years after Moving to New York**_

It wasn't easy but thanks to some help from my amazing friend Bonnie, I was able to pass my entrance exam to NYU Medical School. Bonnie had spelled me with the schooling I missed during my time as sleeping beauty. At first it felt like cheating but Damon made me realize that if none of this had happened, I would be at this point in my studies by now anyway and if I did the traditional rout and studied the old-fashioned way, I'd be years behind my dream of being a doctor. So, I let Bonnie spell me and continued my academic track. The classes were harder than I thought. There were many nights that Damon literally carried me to our bed after I fell asleep with my face on my books.

We'd become regulars at the bar on the corner of our building called The Broom Street Bar, and Damon had become good friends with the owner, Hank. Hank was 72 with long gray hair he always had in a ponytail and a rough voice with a full on New Yorker accent. One of his k-9's was gold and he had tattoos befitting a relic from the punk-rock era. He had no children and after many nights Hank and Damon spent talking about how much better rock music in the 70's had been, Hank started looking at Damon as the son he never had. Little did Hank know just how experience Damon was with the 70's rock culture.

After another day of grueling anatomy lessons and medical ethics, I went to meet Damon at the bar for dinner. Damon was already there and had ordered my favorite thing on the menu, nacho fries, a pita burger and a hard cider. As I rushed through the door my messenger bag caught in the frame and I almost fell. Damon was at my side in an instant making me question how many of his vampire skills he might still have.

"Easy there, lady grace." He smiled and kissed me.

I squinted my eyes at him, "Ha-ha. Sorry I'm late, the 4 train took forever."

"It ok, Hank kept your food warm."

I smiled at Hank and waived, "Thanks Hank!"

"No problem cookie. Go sit, I'll bring it over."

I smiled at his nick name for me and sat at our table by the window. Hank brought our food and challenged Damon over the song that played on the radio. "Alright wise guy, I'll bet your dinner you don't know this one.

Damon listened "Suzi Quatro, Wild One, 1974 from her second album Quatro. Thanks for Dinner Hank." Damon smirked smugly at Hank.

"How the hell does he know this stuff?" Hank asked me. I smiled and shrugged.

Turning to Damon with a smile I quietly said, "You're going to get yourself in trouble one of these days."

"With Hank? No way, I just happen to have excellent taste in music for my age." He winked at me.

I laughed and Damon took a sip of his beer. "How was class?" he asked me.

My head sank to the table. "Ug, I suck at anatomy. Its seriously going to be a problem, today I almost barfed all over the cadaver."

Damon shrugged, "Well, it's not like he would have cared. You like, washed your hands and everything after that class, right?"

A gaped at him. "Yes, thank you. And it's a little ironic, you being worried about my interlacement with a dead body considering your unspoken past."

"Um, yours too missy."

"Touché."

"Hungry?"

"Starving!"

"That's my girl. Even after she's handled a pickled corps, she can still pack it away."

I laughed and went to my food. I was about to dig into my fries when I smelled something off. Was it the cheese? No, it was the meat. It smelled terrible. Suddenly the smell of cooking meat from the small kitchen in front of the bar smelled horrible.

Damon had already taken his first bight of food when he noticed the odd look on my face. "You alright babe?"

"I don't know, does it smell weird in here to you?"

He swallowed and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "No, it smells like greasy bar food. Same as always."

"No, the something off."

"You feeling ok? You look really pale all of a sudden."

The smell just wasn't mixing well with me for some reason. Sweat started to brake out on my forehead and I felt dizzy, "I don't know, I just feel… oh my god," Without warning I got up and ran to the bathroom. Thankfully it wasn't being used. I hardly had time to shut the door behind me before I hurled up everything I'd eaten. Thankfully everything made it to the toilet.

 _ **Damon's POV**_

Elena made a rush to the bathroom like she was on fire. Hank called from behind the bar. "What happened to my cookie?"

"Not sure Hank, keep an eye on our food will ya? And can you hand me a water?" The old man handed me a bottle of Poland Springs and I walked over to the bathroom. I pressed my ear to the door and heard the obvious sounds of my wife throwing her guts up. I knocked on the door.

"Elena, it's me, can I come in?"

"Absolutely not!" she shouted from the other side and another round of violent sounds came from her end of the door. "Ya, cause that's gonna happen." I said and opened the door which she either forgot to lock or didn't have time to lick before her food came back up to play. I Pulled her long hair back into a makeshift ponytail.

"I told you not to come in here." She said weakly.

"You did but, horrendous sounds of my wife in agony veto any words of _keep out_." When it looked like the sickness had passed Elena sat back and flushed away her… episode.

"That class must have really done a number on me." She said as I handed her the open bottle of water. I reached over the toilet and pulled out a few sheets from the paper towel dispenser, wet them with cold water and put them on her forehead.

"You ok to move?"

"Ya I think so."

I pulled her onto her feet and half way carried her towards the front door. As we left I called out to Hank, "Do me a favor and have Dolly wrap up the food? I'm gonna take Elena upstairs. I'll be back down for it in a bit.

He waived at me, "No problem, just take care of her."

As we got outside into the fresh air Elena took a huge breath. I realized she had held it all the way through the bar. In the elevator, Elena slumped against me. I had seen her sick before but this was different. She was really weak. I wrapped my arms around her, brushing strands of hair off her face and she leaned against my shoulder.

"It's alright baby, I got you." Once I got Elena into the loft I tried to bring her straight to bed but she insisted on going to the bathroom and brushing her teeth first. When she finally emerged, I carried her bridal style up to our bed, laid her down and took off her shoes. I kissed her head and whispered I was going back down to the bar to get our food.

"…I'll be back in 5 minutes."

"Mm-hmm." Elena grumbled as she fell asleep.

Grabbing my keys, I locked the door behind me and went to the elevator. Leaning against the wall I started questioning what was wrong with my girl? Around mid-winter last year she caught a bad flu and I waited on her hand and foot. So much so that I ended up catching the damn thing just as she was getting better. It was the first time I'd been sick in almost 2 centuries. That was rough but it wasn't like this. Then, her symptoms came on gradually; post nasal drip, aching limps, then finally the fever, coughing, sneezing and stuffy nose. This was totally out of nowhere.

When I got to the bar, I saw Hank had our food in 2 paper bags on the counter. "How's she doing?" he asked

"Asleep, she just came from an anatomy class and almost tossed it there, maybe it stuck with her?" I shrugged, I sucked at figuring this stuff out. What the hell did I know about sickness?

"Did she say anything else before she made a run for it?"

"Just that the food cooking smelled off to her, but it smells normal in here to me."

"Hu…" Hank thought to himself.

He looked like he was on the verge of something, "You gonna share the thought or do you actually expect me to pay you a penny for it?"

"It's nothing just, my late wife back in 82. She got pregnant for the first and only time in our 40-year marriage. The kid didn't make it but in the beginning, she used to lose it over the smell of some food being cooked. Mostly meat and the greasy stuff. Any chance you two are expecting the pitter-patter of little feet?"

I froze, no way, not a possibility. But again, we were both human now. And while we were pretty safe, there were times when caution did get thrown to the wind in the heat of the moment. Then I remembered one night, I'd come home from the bar late after helping Hank close up. I thought Elena had late classes so I was surprised by what I saw when I walked in the door. The loft was lit by dozens of candles and Ed Sheeran might have been playing. What's up with that guy by the way? His music is like a one-way speed pass for the bedroom. Anyway, Elena dolled herself up in some sexy lacey thing and I don't remember having ravaged her with more fuel than since we were vampires. Did we go 3 times that night? 4? And I… shit.

I swallowed hard, my eyes having found their way to a random spot on the chalk board wall behind him. Hank shrugged, "Judging by the dumb-stick look on your face, I'm guessing its totally something in the _yes_ direction. Mazel Tov kid." He slapped my shoulder and I silently turned to the front door and made my way back to the loft and Elena. A pregnant Elena? Could it really be? I was totally on autopilot as I let myself back in the building and elevator. The door started to close when I shot my hand out, stopping it from closing. I left the food on the marble bench in the lobby and ran back to the bar. I needed to ask Hank more questions. I didn't have a father to turn to for this stuff and asking Rik would only result in blondie finding out. The ball of wax that would form was too much for right now. I wasn't even sure it was true yet! It didn't matter that I was technically more than twice his age, there were aspects of life Hank had experience with that I never did. This being one of them.

I burst through the door and caught Hank pouring someone a pint. Not wasting any time, I dropped in front of him at the bar and started asking away. "When did you guys know for sure your wife was pregnant?"

Hank cocked an eyebrow at me. "She went to a doctor dummy."

"No, I mean was there other stuff she did? Other signs besides the throwing up?"

Hank thought for a moment. "I did notice after she tossed up her food she was really weak ya-know? Like the life had been drained out of her. But after she rested for a bit, she devoured a whole plate of Chinese dumplings like it was the first time she had eaten in weeks. The color came back to her face and she went right back to normal. Like none of it ever happened. Then it did happen again, that was when I though the men with stethoscopes had better take over."

I nodded like an idiot kid and asked more. "What worked for her being sick? Anything? I mean she wasn't supposed to take medicine or anything, right?"

"Damon, it was the early 80's. nobody gave a shit back then. I saw pregnant women smoking, drinking. Now a days, you have a smoke within 300 yards of a knocked up chick and people look at you like you're an axe murderer."

"You really need to quit those by the way. But seriously, did anything work?"

"You're starting to sound like my dead wife you know that? I been smoking since before you were a gleam in your daddy's eye kid."

"I highly doubt that but come on! I need answers."

"Crackers, the ones with salt and ginger ale."

"Got it, just one more thing." This was going to be hard to ask. Hank was a rough no nonsense guy but this topic could change that. "I don't want to be a dick by asking you this and if I'm overstepping just tell me to piss off. How did you lose your kid?"

Hank looked down. "Miscarriage, my wife was 4 months in and she started bleeding. The doctor told us it was normal for her to do a little of that so we didn't worry. Then that night, she started cramping and well… That was the end of that."

"I'm sorry buddy."

"Eh, it's ancient history. Now go, take care of your wife and I get first dibs at his musical education." I smiled and thanked him. I knew it couldn't have been easy for Hank to talk about that with me but it was thankful he did.

Before I came back up I stopped at the drug store and bought a few things; saltines, ginger ale, a jar of pickles, vanilla ice cream and a pregnancy test that came with 2 sticks. I figured if one was defective the other one would serve as a backup. The pickles and ice cream thing could be a total urban legend but it couldn't hurt to be proactive. The sales girl eyed me like I was a piece of meat as one by one I placed my items on the counter.

"I'm Slone," she said flirtatiously, arching her back so her chest appeared larger than it was.

I smiled back and put up my left hand, "I'm married." Call me what you will, but I love it when this happened. I honestly loved playing the married card. The look on these foolish little girl's faces was nothing short of hilarious. Then I dropped the last item in front of her, the pregnancy test "And we might be expecting." My singsong voice was the icing on the cake.

The sales girl _Slone_ , stupid name, was flustered as she rang me up and bagged my items. "Thank you, Slone. you have a great day." As I sauntered away I had to use all my willpower not to crack up laughing there and then.

Back in the loft I watch Elena sleep for hours, wondering if there was someone else in there with her. When 10pm rolled around, I figured I'd better wake her up and make her eat something. Groggily Elena came too. I had warmed up the burger, careful to keep the windows open so the place didn't smell like hamburger and set Elena off on another bathroom run.

"How long have I been out?" She asked scratching her head.

"About 4 hours."

"Crap! Why didn't you wake me? I need to study!" she tried to jump out of bed and fell back down, dizzy and completely devoid of food.

"Slow down there you," I said catching her and softening her landing on the mattress. "You need to eat something before you go putting your nose to the grind."

She made a face, "I can't even thing about food right now."

"Good, don't think, just eat." I put the plate in front of her. "For me?"

She smiled, "You know that whole sire bond thing was over years ago right?"

"No sire bond here, just a loving husband who watched his beautiful wife completely empty the contents of her stomach earlier and wants her to eat something." I gave Elena my best puppy dog face.

Her relented like I knew she would. "You didn't have to give me the face."

I shrugged, "You go with what works. Now eat."

After a few tentative bights, Elena went into a frenzy and devoured the entire burger in a very unladylike fashion. Hanks words from earlier rang in my ear _"…like she hadn't eaten in weeks."_

"Oh, my god, that burger was heavenly. I feel so much better now. Thanks for making me eat love."

I kissed her burger flavored lips and got up from the bed taking Elena's plate. When I turned around I picked up the test. "Hey babe, would you do me a favor?"

"What's up?" She asked as she got up.

I held out the test and asked, "Can you take these to the bathroom and pee on them?"

The look of confused horror on her face caused me to stifle a fit of laughter. Then she realized what I was holding.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"I'm just saying, you got sick out of nowhere and…"

"Ya, sometimes it happens to people, it doesn't necessarily mean… that."

"Well its cheaper than a trip to the doctor and if they come up negative at least we can rule this out."

"This is ridiculous, I've been careful."

I pursed my lips tilting my head to the side. "Not exactly… remember that night? The candles? The lacey thing?" I gave her my bedroom voice as I listed the significant details of the night in question from 8 weeks ago. Elena blushed. I loved that after 2 years of marriage I could still make her turn red.

"Ok, I'll take these to the bathroom and when they come up negative It's pepto bisbol time."

"Agreed."

 _ **Elena's POV**_

In the bathroom, I waited for the 3 minutes the box said it took for the results to come up. This was ridiculous. There was no way I was… that. Geez I couldn't even think the word. It was too soon! I still had another 2 years of med school and at least 3 years of residency ahead of me! Then I remembered one girl in my ethics class named Carrie. She was a 3rd year and was 6 months pregnant. We were the only two married women in the class and had become pretty good friends.

I had asked her how she could handle being pregnant and medical school at the same time. It looked like a ton of work and stress. She said it wasn't easy but she planned to take a sabbatical once the baby was born and return after a few months. Carrie and her husband had been married for 5 years and they had wanted kids badly. Her husband was in law school and her mom planned to move in with them to help with the baby so they both could continue their education. Carrie had spoken with her adviser and together they came up with a game plan.

So, it wasn't impossible but it was hard. But Carrie had the help of her family, something Damon and I didn't have. I looked at myself in the wall mirror to the left on the sink and studied my reflection. I turned to the side and touched my belly, imagined it sticking out. The I stopped myself. "Stop being stupid Elena," I chastised myself. The alarm went off on my phone signaling the 3 minutes were up. I approached the 2 tests on the counter like they were tiny bombs and read the results.

"Oh…"

Damon knocked from the other side of the bathroom door. "Come in," I shouted, still frozen.

He opened the door and with restrained rush and asked, "What's the verdict?"

The words left my mouth like I was choking. "I'm, I'm pregnant."

Damon looked like he'd been punched in the face and won the lotto simultaneously. He pulled me into his arms and held me so tightly I could hardly breathe. "Holy shit babe." He said into my hair as he started to kiss my forehead, cheeks and then my lips.

"What are we going to do? I mean we're not ready for this, are we?"

"Is anyone every really ready?" he asked. The mix of emotions on his face were fascinating. There was worry, excitement, fear, joy and more that I had ever seen before in one shot.

"I guess not but, Damon, I still have 2 more years of med school and residency and that'll be insane hours. How can I be a mother and still become a doctor? We have no family that can help us really. And…"

He took my face in his hands, instantly calming me. "We'll figure it out. I mean it's 2017, stay at home dads are a _thing_ now right? Elena, do you know what this means? This is everything we've fought for. Becoming human, getting married, having a family. We're getting the chance we never would have had."

He was right. There was a huge part of our lives where the possibility of children was no possibility at all. But here we were; married, happy and now pregnant. I started to cry.

"You're right. Crap is this the hormones already?"

"I have no idea, I just know that I couldn't be any happier than I am right now."

 _ **Damon's POV**_

I held Elena to me. A baby, we were going to have a baby. A screaming, puking, pissing, pooping baby. I couldn't wait. Going down on my knees I pulled up Elena's t-shirt and spoke to her belly.

"Hey little one, I'm your dad. I can't wait to meet you." Kissing the skin that housed our child the world felt complete. I nuzzled my face against Elena's womb and she hugged my head, bending a little to kiss the top of my hair. What a perfect moment.

In my head, I hoped it would be a girl. A beautiful little girl with brown hair and eyes and a fire to conquer the world. Just like her mother.

* * *

 _ **I hope this was a good addition to my view of D &E's human life together. So far the support I've received for this story has been amazing! I'm so glad fans of the VD series are enjoying my contribution to our favorite couple.**_

 _ **I hope to have Part 2 of this chapter up by the end of the weekend so please keep a look out! Thank you again and please, please review? They really make my day and inspire me to write more. Also if you have any ideas or things you'd like to see happen let me know!**_

 _ **~SL**_


	4. Nothing Short of a Miracle, Part 2

_**Chapter 4! As**_ ** _promised! I based the chapter on a few things from my life including a story I had heard in high school about a real civil was soldier. It felt like a Damon thing to do so I added it in. I hope you all like it!_**

* * *

 _ **Damon's POV**_

Over the next few months, our lives had become all about baby prep. Elena had meeting after meeting with her academic advisor on what the plan would be during and after her pregnancy. We both decided not to tell anyone right away, except for Hank since he had witnessed the first ever sign that our child was indeed cooking. He bought the whole bar a free round of shots when he heard the news.

"My boy here is gonna be a father!" he shouted to the patrons.

When we did break the news to our family everyone lost their minds. But none as over the top as dear, bubbly, blondie. Using the mindset that everyone should know all at once, we took a picture of the two positive home tests, added a caption that said, _'THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!'_ and hit send. Approximately 12 hours later, the buzzer to our apartment was buzzing like the sound was going out of style. The fact that it was 5am didn't exactly help my disposition.

I zombie walked to the intercom and pressed the talk button, "Unless this is the cops, piss off!"

I hit the listen button and nearly went deaf over the high-pitched screech, _"Open the door!"_

"Caroline? How are you buzzing my door at 5am all the way in Virginia?"

" _Very funny smart ass now let me in!"_

"Let her in Damon," Elena giggled from the stairs that let to our bedroom.

I hit the buzzer to allow entry to the most energetic person we know and turned to Elena, "This is on you." I said to my wife as I opened the door to Caroline who vamped it up the stairs right to and through the open door.

"What happened to needing an invitation?"

"Looks like by buzzing me in you invited me into your place. Gonna, have to be quicker than that!" She turned to Elena and squealed.

"You're gonna be a mommieeeeeeeee! ONG look at your little belly!" The two girls hugged and laughed. I turned to the kitchen.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have classes to teach?" Elena asked hugging her bestie back.

"Yes, but I got away for the day. I couldn't take just texting you back, I thought we could go shopping for baby stuff!"

"And it'll be strong coffee this morning." I said to myself and went about making myself a cup from the Keurig single cup apparatus.

After I finished garnishing myself a piping hot cup of black sweet and strong I felt my sweet wife wrap her arms around my waist and make a move for my cup. "Thanks honey…" She said melodiously.

Before she could make off with _my_ caffeine, I slipped the cup out of reach and brought it to my lips. "Nice try prego."

"Damon!" She whined.

"Elena!" I mocked.

"There nothing wrong with me having coffee."

"Of course not, so long as it's decaf or of the herbal tea variety. Neither of which resides in this cup here." I took a long sip. Elena gave me a face like a child who had been told no to a toy she desperately wanted.

"Look, maybe you're ok with our baby developing into a hyperactive, neurotic, nervous little creature… No offence blondie… but I'm not. So please, the decaf inserts have the green label." I turned away from her and opened yesterday's paper that I hadn't finished on the kitchen island.

"He's right you know, caffeine is terrible for the baby." Caroline piped in from her place on the couch.

"Great, you're on his team now?" Elena's shoulders sagged defeated.

"Hey, I'm team baby. Doesn't matter who's arguing what point. So… any maternal instincts kicking in as to if it's a boy or a girl?" Caroline beamed.

 _ **Elena's POV**_

I sat down next to my best friend, looked down at my starter baby bump and rubbed it. "I don't know, Damon swears it's a girl."

"Aw! Lizzy and Josie would lose their minds! Have you guys started picking out names yet?"

"Not exactly, we made a list of names that are not an option but that's as far as we could get."

"You guys made a _No Name_ list? What's on it?"

Damon started reading them off via memory, "Rebecca, Amber, Stephany, Slone, Charlotte, any variation of Lily and of course Catherine."

Care nodded, "Ok, yea, I could see those being no-go's. Who names their child Slone?"

"At least one person apparently." Damon said into his cup.

"What if it's a boy?"

Damon and I looked at each other with a secret smile, "That one we aren't telling anyone until we know."

"Doesn't matter though cause she's a girl." Damon's smile was ear to ear with just the right amount of smugness.

"Well what about naming her after your mom?"

"I thought about that but, Lizzie and Josie were both named after people. I kind of wanted to do something different. Miranda will be her middle name though _if_ she is a girl."

"When," Damon said.

"If!" I laughed.

"Well, you guys said the names that you don't like what about some names you do like?"

"I've always thought Audrey was nice." I said.

"Great, a manic-depressive movie star with anorexia and daddy issues." Damon spoke up while reading the paper.

"That was mean." Care scolded him.

"But true."

Care rolled her eyes then perked up again "Oo! What about Delilah? It's so pretty."

"You are not naming my daughter after a biblical whore." Damon looked like the idea was ridiculous.

"Grace?" Caroline asked.

"So, if she's klutzy she can get ripped on her whole life?"

Over the next few minutes, I watched the tennis match my husband and best friend engaged in over potential names for our possible daughter. Caroline suggested and Demon shot them down. Back and forth, over and over till Caroline finally dismissed Damon completely.

"You know what? You are no help what so ever." She shot him down.

"Not my fault your suggestions stink."

That was when it hit me. "Hang on you two," I turned to Damon, analyzing him. "You've thought of this before, haven't you?" I asked him.

He gave me a look that said _duh!_ "Of course, I've thought of it, your 4 months pregnant."

I smiled knowing I'd caught him. "No I mean before this. You've totally thought about this before."

He looked away trying to play it cool. "My thoughts might have touched on the topic once or twice over my long life."

I got off the couch and started walking towards him, "Uh-hu, which means you've already had your heart set on a name for… how long exactly?"

He took in a deep breath and shrugged, "Look, it was never supposed to happen for me. But there was a time a while ago and…"

"And…"

Damon's usually cool confident façade melted away. In a low hopeful voice, he said the name. "Gabriella."

I smiled and was about to say something when I felt a flutter in my belly. "Wow,"

"What? What's the matter?" Damon rushed over to where I was standing.

"I think, wow there it is again." I started laughing. "I think she likes it."

"She's moving?" Damon asked, lifting my shirt over my belly and pressing his hand.

Damon looked in my eyes with an amazed smile on his face, I kissed him sweetly and said our daughter's name. "Gabriella Miranda Salvatore, I love it."

After some no-so-light baby shopping for gender neutral onesies, blankets, books, toys, maternity clothes, and a fold up stroller. Caroline said her goodbyes. Damon and I promised to come back to Mystic Falls so she and Bonnie could host my baby shower in a few months. Then Caroline made her drive back.

That night in bed Damon held me by my belly and we talked a little.

"Where did you get the name Gabriella?" I asked him.

"It's not exactly a happy story." He kissed my shoulder.

"Tell me."

 _ **Damon's POV**_

Elena wanted to know where I thought up our daughter's name. It was not an easy story to tell but, she deserved to know. I pulled back into my memory and told her.

"It was in 1862, I was fighting for the south in the civil war. My division came to a hospital with a few of our wounded men seeking medical services. The doctor in charge helped us, no questions of course. But I wasn't one of the wounded. While the soldiers in need were being treated, I explored the hospital and found the children's ward. The nurse outside the ward asked me if I would visit with the children since most of them had families who were either lost in the war or were still fighting, I agreed. One of them was a little girl name Gabriella. She was 4 years old, beautiful, brown curly hair and big green eyes. She was holding a doll and crying. I asked her why she was crying and she told me her mother had just died of tuberculosis. I told her, not to cry and that her father would come get her when the war was over. Then she told me she and her mother had received notice that her father had been killed in action before coming to the hospital. She was alone in the world and she was sick with tuberculosis as well. She feared going to a children's home and being with strangers and wanted to angels to come and take her so she could be with her family in heaven. I wanted to cry with her. She had lost so much but was so young. I told her, that her family would want her to fight and get better. We were in the hospital for 4 days and every moment I wasn't performing my duties I spent with Gabriella…

I told her stories my mother had told me as a child, started teaching her how to read and she started to get better. She asked me to tell her about where I came from. So, I told her all about Mystic Falls and my family's home. Told her about Stephan and our father. She asked if I had any children. When I told her no, she said she wished she could be my little girl. I don't know what came over me but I smiled and told her that if she was strong and fought the sickness, then when the war was over I would take her home with me and she could be my little girl."

Elena sniffed, "What happened to her?"

"The next morning, I went into town to find a lawyer so I could adopt her and make sure she would be sent to my family's home if anything happened to me during the war. I couldn't stand to think of her in a children's home all alone. But she had turned for the worst and died before I had returned."

"Oh, my god,"

"She was buried with her mother and I requested to be transferred to another unit. I couldn't stay in that hospital another day. But she stayed with me forever. I said then that if I ever had a daughter I'd name her after the daughter I almost had." I smiled but it was a sad smile I remembered that beautiful little face like it was yesterday.

Elena turned and kissed me, "Why did you every tell me that story before?"

"It's not exactly something I enjoy bringing up."

"I get that, but why didn't you tell me about that name sooner? It would have been a lot more productive than you turning down every other idea."

"I guess I though if I turned down enough maybe you'd have eventually come to it in your own?"

She laughed, "Still it would have been easier if you just told me."

"Yea I know. Sue me."

Her brown eyes had a spark in them. "I'd rather do something else…" Her voice trailed off as her hands found their way under my shirt.

"Now that's more like it." One bonus to Elena being pregnant was the hormones made her appetite for physical pleasure insatiable. At first I wasn't sure if it was safe for the baby but once we got the green light from her doctor, it was full steam ahead. I sat up and pulled my shirt off then helped Elena with hers. After spending a considerable time on her lips, I trailed kissed down her neck, color bone, chest, and finale her belly. I left a special kiss there before removing her shorts.

We made love twice that night and with every touch, every kiss, every melding of our bodies, I fell more and more in love with my wife.

* * *

 **If anyone is weirded out by pregnant ladies getting it on with their husbands, get over it! I was one twice and believe me there's nothing weird about it.**

 **As for the story of Gabriella, that was a story I heard from an English teacher I had in high school who's great-great grandfather actually had that experience with a little girl in a TB ward only he did adopt her and she lived a ling happy life, got married and had a family of her own. A beautiful story but the adoption didn't really fit here so I had to make some changes. Sorry!**

 **Anyway! Keep an eye out for the next chapter. I estimate there will only be about 5 or 6 more left but I promise you they will all be beautiful.**


	5. Everything I Am, Part 1

_**Hello all! This chapter is not exactly a joyous one but all**_ ** _couldn't be perfect, as much as we want it to. Enjoy!_**

* * *

 _ **Elena's POV,**_

The 4-train arrived and I struggled to get up from the subway bench. It was the end of May and I was finally done with my 2nd year of med school. This train ride home would be the last one I took home from classes till after the little monster in my tummy finally made their appearance. As I got to my feet I let out a deep breath from the effort.

"One month to go Elena," I told myself and entered the train car.

I don't know how women did this more than once and even sometimes with more than one baby at a time. This single occupancy was enough to make me say _I'm good_ , on any other kids. So far there have been crippling back aches, battles to control very personal bathroom functions, fatigue unlike anything I've ever known before and cravings for the most random things like Chipotle burrito bowls with chocolate syrup or grilled peached with spicy mustard.

I knew women went through crazy pregnancy rides but being that this was my first, everything felt escalated. Damon, god bless him, had been the most understanding man on planet earth. He woke up at 3 am when a craving hit to make me whatever I wanted, rubbed my back till I fell asleep and tolerated my madness on our trips to pick out baby stuff.

The baby shower Care and Bonny threw had been beautiful with everything in pinks and blues with question marks to signify that Damon and I weren't going to find out the sex of the baby till he or she was born. Since we had to travel back to New York after the shower we asked that everyone just give cash and gift cards so we could purchase everything when we got back some.

Since the loft was very open we settled on a cozy corner next to one of the large windows to be the nursery. It was a spot Damon and I had as a breakfast nook but never really used since we usually ate on the kitchen island. He had said when the baby got older he would have a wall built so he or she could have a little more privacy. But that wouldn't be for a while.

Today he was at home overseeing the delivery/assembling of the barn wash gray crib we picked out at Baby Pottery Barn as well as the other furniture that was supposed to arrive today. Otherwise he's be on the train with me, like he insisted on being every single time. He hated it when I took the train by myself this far along in my pregnancy and tried his best to get me to take a cab. But for the life of me I couldn't see the point wasting $20 on a car ride that should be 5 minutes but would end up being 45 with traffic when I could spend $2.75 and be home in 15 minutes, tops.

He had tried to fight me on it but I told him I enjoyed the walk to our place from the train. Plus, it being Spring meant it would be lighter till later in the evening and out streets were always busy. Busy meant safe. So, he conceded, and here I was on the train home. I got off at Bleecker Street, which was farther away from out place but the weather was so beautiful outside, I couldn't resist the walk. I took in everything, from the orange glow if the sunset reflecting on the brick buildings to the street venders selling knick-knacks to the people walking in every direction. I spotted a woman with her daughter who looked about 8. They were pushing a stroller with a little blue bundle inside. I couldn't help the smile on my face as they passed. I thought to myself, _'Maybe one more after this one…Maybe.'_

Passing one store window I saw the most beautiful sage green receiving blanket and had a moment with it. It came with a matching long-sleeved onesie and cap with mitten hands and covered feet. I stared at it and started tearing up, 'damn hormones!' I thought as I wiped my tears and went into the store, and asked about the set.

The sales person was a sweet woman in her 40's with long brown hair that had some gray in it and kind blue eyes. She explained the fabric and set to me. "The material is 100% organic cotton. It's meant to be a take home outfit for when you and your baby are ready to come home from the hospital and comes with this keepsake picture box to store it in. It comes in gray, blue and pink."

I was mesmerized, picturing a photo of Damon and I holding our little one on the box. I would bring it out on his or her wedding one day to show how tiny they once were. "I love the green."

She smiled, "It's my favorite too, is this your first?"

I nodded as more tears started to bud. The woman handed me a tissue. I was embarrassed at how bad I was at controlling myself. "I'm sorry," I tried to laugh it off.

"Not to worry dear, that's why they're there."

"I'll take it, how much?"

"$50,"

It was a little pricy for a baby outfit but at the moment, I didn't care. I said I wouldn't be the mom that splurges on her kids and spoils them, but in this case, I couldn't imagine bringing our baby home in anything else. Besides, I still had money on one of AMEX gift cards from the shower. I pulled out my wallet and took out the card. The sales lady shook she head.

"I'm sorry dear, we're cash only."

I was surprised but that wasn't going to stop me. I know my bank had a branch around the corner. I could go to the ATM and be back on 5 minutes. I told the lady and went on a power walk, excited by my impending purchase.

The bank was closed for the day but the ATM's were still available in the small room next to the bank's front door. As I opened the door someone entered with me. I smiled at them and went to my own ATM cubical. Going through the motions of entering my card, pin number, and so on, I thought nothing about my surroundings. I vaguely heard the footsteps of the other person in the room with me head towards what I though was the desk behind me. Maybe to use the pen's? But then I had a feeling something wasn't right. I was about to turn around when the man grabbed me from the throat.

"Don't move!" He shouted at me. He took a knife and brought it to my belly.

No, this wasn't happening. "Please, don't hurt my baby." I started to cry as silently as possible as I panicked.

"I don't wanna hurt your kid lady. You're gonna take out some money and I'm gonna leave. Simple as that."

"Ok, ok." With trembling hands, I worked the touch screen. "It'll only let me take out $800."

"That's good, take it out, NOW!"

My heart jumped but I stayed still, afraid he'd slip and cut my stomach. "Alright, just please…"

The cash came out and I handed it back to him. "Ok, you're gonna stay facing the screen and count to 100. You got it?" he asked forcefully.

I nodded my head franticly. I saw he took the knife from my belly and started to back away. It was over, thank god. Then the door to the ATM room opened and a man screamed "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

My attacker grabbed me again, this time turning me around and throwing me into the desk that held the pend and deposit slips. He ran towards the door and was gone before my head hit the edge of the desk. Blackness shrouded me and the world went in slow motion as my body continued its path to the marble floor. Before I blacked out I put my arm in front of me to stop myself from falling on my baby. I turned to the side at the last minute and passed out. My only thought on the pain I felt on my hip thankful it wasn't on my belly.

 _ **Damon's POV,**_

I ran like never before to the hospital. There would be no way I'd last in a cab or in the train to I ran all the way to 14th street to Beth Israel emergency room. When I got the call from the police saying Elena had been mugged, was unconscious and was being rushed to the hospital I literally felt the world collapse beneath me. _'This can't be happening.'_ I thought the whole way there.

I shot through the doors to the information desk. "Salvatore, Elena Salvatore, my wife, is she ok? Where is she?"

The nurse looked at her computer, "Let me see," she typed in a few keys and looked back up at me. "The patent was moved from emergency to surgery 10 minutes ago."

"Surgery? But she's still got another month. It's too soon! I need to see her. Where is she?"

"5th floor, go the in desk there and they'll direct you."

I nodded and ran to the elevator. Over and over I said to myself, _'This can't be happening, this can't be happening…'_

Once I got to the 5th floor the Nurse directed me to a waiting room. I almost lost it. "No, I need to be with my wife, not in a waiting room!"

"Your wife is in surgery, you can't go in there. Best thing for you to do is wait in the room and the doctor will find you when she's out."

Like a drone, I went to the waiting room. It was either that or get kicked out of the hospital. Sitting on those hard-plastic chairs with my head in my hands I broke down. My phone started ringing, it was Hank.

"Hey buddy! I brought some vinyls down I bet you never heard of. When you commin by?"

"I'm in the hospital Hank," I said without emotion.

Hank paused, "What happened?"

"Elena…mugged…surgery…" that was all I could get out.

"What hospital?"

"Beth Israel,"

"I'll be right over." Hank ended the call.

The phone fell from my hands to the floor. What if something happened to Elena and the baby? I could live if I lost them both. What if I just lost one of them? I'd have no choice but to live on even if some part of me would be dead forever.

I wasn't sure if seconds, minutes or hours passed when the nurse came, "Mr. Salvatore, there's a man here who says he's your father?"

I looked up confused till I saw Hank, "Ya, you can let him in."

The nurse looked at Hank and I back and forth clearly looking for a resemblance and finding none,

Hank being the crude rough bastard he was, challenged the nurse, "What, you got nothing more important to do? He looks like his mother. How about you go on your computer and find out how my daughter-in-law and grandchild's doing? That would be useful don't ya think? Don't you see how my boy is suffering?"

"You better keep him in check," The nurse said to me as she turned around.

"Ah get outta here will ya, and don't come back till you have something useful to say for a change!"

"Hank, it's ok." I put my hand on his shoulder. He turned to me and hugged me.

"They tell you anything?" he asked taking a seat next to me.

"She was mugged at an ATM, someone walked in on it and the guy pushed her into the pen desk. She hit her head and just missed landing on her stomach. That's all I know."

Hank nodded his head putting his hand on my shoulder, "She'll be alright kid. She's a tough girl."

After a moment, I turned to Hank, "Why'd you tell them you were my father?"

"It's a hospital, they won't let you in unless you're family." Hank looked down, "Besides, you and Elena, you're pretty much the closest thing to family I got."

I nodded, moved that Hank thought of me as a son and decided to share something personal with him. "You know, my dad was a real piece of work; he was cold, never there for us. And my mom took off on me and my brother when I was 17, my brother was just a kid."

"Where is your brother?"

"He-ah, he died almost 5 years ago."

"I'm sorry,"

"Thanks, the point is, I have never had good luck when it came to family. Elena and I have some really good friends and she has her brother but that's it. Then we met you and you just about adopted me." I laughed. "You've been more like a father to me than my own ever was. It means a lot to me that you came Hank,"

His hand still on my shoulder, Hank gripped it tighter. "I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else, son."

I smiled and started to cry, "What am I going to do if I lose them?"

"You stop that, stop it right there. You don't know anything yet, for all you know, they're both going to be fine. If you start killing yourself with _what if's_ you'll lose your mind then where will the two of them be?"

A doctor dressed in surgical scrubs walked in, "Damon Samvatore?"

"That's me!" I jumped, Hank right at my side.

"Mr. Salvatore, I'm Dr Medina. Your wife ruptured her fluid sack when she fell causing her to go into early labor but she was unconscious when she arrived at the hospital so we had to perform an emergency cesarean. The baby is fine, however, we took her to the NNICU to run some tests just to be sure."

"Her?" I asked hardly being able to breathe.

Dr. Medina smiled, "Yes Mr. Salvatore, your daughter is 5lbs/8ounces, that's a little light but she's just fine. She'll have to put of some weight before she'll be ready to leave the hospital though."

'I have a daughter,' I let the thought sink in. Then my mind returned to Elena. "My wife, is she…" I couldn't finish my sentence.

Dr. Medina looked solemn "Mrs. Salvatore took quite a blow to the head, we are concerned she may have a skull fracture but couldn't get a fix on it until we got the baby out. Unfortunately, while we were doing the C-section, your wife fell into a coma…"

Skull fracture? Coma? I started retreating into myself again. Hank must have sensed it since he spoke to the Dr. next.

"When will we be able to see Elena and the baby?"

"Mrs. Salvatore is getting an x-ray now, we should have her in a room within the hour. As for the baby, you can see her from the incubator viewing window now. It's on the 7th floor"

"Come on kid, let's go meet your daughter." Hank took my arm and I yanked it away. "No!"

The doctor and Hank looked at me surprised. "Not till Elena sees her." I turned back to the chairs but couldn't sit. There was too much happening. Elena, my wife was in a coma after giving birth to our daughter. But I couldn't go there. I couldn't see my daughter before her mother saw her. I couldn't do any of this without her.

* * *

 ** _Ya... like I said, not exactly a happy one but don't worry I should have part 2 up by the weekend. Please don't kill me!_**

 ** _Also please, please review! Let me know some scenes you'd like to see with Damon and Elena._**

 ** _As always, than you for reading!_**

 ** _~SL_**


	6. Everything I Am, Part 2

_**Damon POV**_

For 3 days, I sat at Elena's side waiting for any sign that she was coming back to me. All I could think of is how once a few short years ago I had seen her exactly like this. My sleeping beauty. Only this time there were tubes and machines that beeped steadily monitoring her heart rate were keeping her body functional instead of magic. Full-freaking circle.

Hank stood with me the entire time. I had gotten in touch with our friends and family, filling them in on what happened. Jeremy was on a plane at that very moment and the rest of the Mystic Falls crew would be with us by the weekend.

"I'm gonna hunt down some more coffee, you want?" Hank asked me.

I shook my head and dropped it back down to Elena's hand. When we were alone, I lifted my head and looked at her. Her head was wrapped in a white bandage and a violent purple and blue bruise marred the right side of her face. Even still, she was beautiful. I swallowed and spoke to her.

"This really isn't fair you know? Going all Grim Brothers Princess on me again. Cause this time we don't have an eternity to spare. Every day that passes… I'm terrified you'll just give up and that damn beeping will stop and I'll lose you for good. But you're a fighter baby. You are so much braver that I am. You've always done the right thing for everyone and I've always done the selfish thing. Anything I ever did that wasn't 99% in my best interest was because of you. You made me a better man Elena. But we're not finished yet. Our daughter need you. For one thing, I don't know jack about girl things." I laughed to myself as tears pricked my eyes. "How am I going to tie bows in her hair, or help her pick out a prom dress? Who's going to restrain me from killing every boy that looks her way? That's why you need to keep fighting and come back to us."

I stood up and kissed her forehead, not caring about my 3 days of stubble that had grown in. I hadn't changed my clothes or anything since all this happened and only left Elena's side to relieve myself from time to time. But only when Hank was there so she wouldn't be alone for a second. Each day I lost more hope that my wife, the mother of my child, the love of my life, would ever come back to me. I sat back in my chair and dropped my head back onto Elena's hand, kissing her fingers one by one. I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes.

A soft sensation of movement got my attention. I opened my eyes, still with my head down waiting for another but it didn't happen. Convincing myself it was in my head I closed my eyes again. I held Elena's fingers tighter and to my shock, she started squeezing me back. Holding my breath, I shot my head up and looked at her face. She was still so still but she was clearly squeezing my hand. Then her other hand started moving. Frist her thumb, then her pointer and pinkie.

I reached up and softly brushed my hand against her un-marred cheek. "Elena?" I whispered.

Her breathing started becoming irregular and the beeping of the heart rate monitor started beeping faster. Then her eyes opened, "Damon?" she said my name. her voice was ragged and disoriented but she said my name! She looked around confused and tried weakly to pull at the tubes that were pumping saline into her veins.

I gently stopped her, "No, no don't do that baby. Those are there to help you."

"Wh-where?"

"You're in the hospital, everything's ok."

At the word hospital Elena started to panic and reached for her belly. "Baby, Where's the baby?" Tears of fear and dread formed in her beautiful brown eyes. I tried to calm her.

"Shhh, she's ok, she's in the incubator. She's ok."

Elena looked up at me. The tears shedding and rolling down her cheeks. "She?"

I smiled and started to cry myself. "She…"

"I wanna see her. Please?"

I nodded my head "I'll get the doctor."

After a check on Elena's vitals the Doctor sent for our baby. I half sat, half laid down on the bed next to Elena. Careful not to disturbed any of the tubes "I can't believe I'm going to get to see her finally." I said, barely able to contain my joy.

Elena looked over at me baffled. "You haven't seen her yet?"

I looked down and held her hand, playing with her wedding rings. "I couldn't see her before you."

Elena smiled sadly "You didn't have to do that Damon."

I kissed her bandaged forehead, "Yea I did."

A few seconds later a nurse rolled in the clear plastic Tupperware looking box that held our sleeping baby girl. She was wrapped up in a snug hospital blanket with another thicker blanket over her tiny body. I recognized it as one of the ones from our apartment Elena and Caroline had bought a few months ago.

"Where did that come from?" I asked the nurse.

"Oh, when he found out your daughter was having some trouble maintaining a warm enough body temperature, your father brought it from your home. He said Mrs. Salvatore had started sleeping with it so it would have her scent for when the baby was born."

I smiled, yesterday Hank had offered to go by the apartment and get some things for me, Elena and the baby. The sly dog must have stopped by the NNICU to check on our daughter during one of his coffee runs. I had told him about the blanket asking him if it was weird that Elena was worried about a newborn knowing her scent like a puppy. He told me to let the woman do her thing. "Good old dad," I said as our daughter was finally close enough to touch.

The nurse picked up the little pink bundle and handed her over to Elena. The look on my wife's face was indescribable. It was like her whole DNA structure had been changed and she had become a new species. She looked down at our daughter with such awe. The she started to sob. They were tears of joy.

"She has your eyes,"

Elena's POV

Looking down at my sleeping daughter, I literally felt everything about my life change. My heart swelled to 10 times its regular size and filled to the brim with an overwhelming love. The new love I felt consumed me to such a point that I questioned what my heart's purpose had been before she came into my life. She opened her little eyes and observed us for the first time.

"She has your eyes," Damon proclaimed, as we looked into her soft brown orbs. I was so frenzied with this new batch of emotion I didn't even realize I was crying. She looked up at us examining us, making little sounds, opening and closing her tiny hands. From under her cap I saw the soft brown color of her hair. The same as mine.

She was stunning as a newborn. I could only imagine how she'd look as a toddler or a pre-teen or as a woman. The tears started up again.

Damon reached down and cupped the top of her head "Hi sweetheart, we're your parents." His voice was so soft as he spoke to her.

Taken over by instinct I loosened her blanket, pulled down the top of my hospital gown and brought her to my breast. She immediately latched and started to nurse. I looked up at Damon who watched us like we were the most precious vision he had ever seen. After a few minutes, her little mouth went slack and she had fallen back to sleep. I unlatched her from me and covered myself. I tightened the blankets around her and looked again at Damon. "Wanna hold her _Daddy_?"

The word Daddy looked like it shocked Damon. But that's who he was now, he was a Daddy and I was a Mommy. He looked at me nervously, "I've never held a baby before," he admitted.

"Here," I handed her to Damon, and instructed him on how to support her head and bottom. He was a quick learner and instinctively started to coo her and bounce her gently. "Hey beautiful, I got you. Gabriella, Daddy's got you." It was the first time either one of us had said her name in her presence. She made a little sound that sounded like approval. And almost a little frustrated like _Finally! I've been waiting for 3 days for you guys!_

We laughed at her show of personality at only 3 days old. That was when Hank walked in with 2 cups of coffee and a paper bag. As he entered the room and took in the scene; me awake and the baby in Damon's arms, he froze.

"Holy Toledo! How long was I gone?" he asked confused.

"Hi Hank," I greeted him laughing.

"Hey cookie, welcome back. You gave us quite a scare." He put the bag and coffee cups on the hospital tray and hugged me. Then he turned to Damon.

"So, this is her?" he asked with a big smile.

Damon nodded, "Gabriella? I think it's time to meet someone very special." Damon took a step towards Hank who put up his hands.

"Oh, I don't know kid."

I smiled and encouraged him from the bed. "It's fine Hank, you're going to be seeing a lot of her you know." It didn't take a genius to figure out Hank had told the hospital he was Damon's father so he could be here with Damon while I was unconscious. And I knew Damon had started to look at Hank as a pseudo parent; asking for advice on things that Damon had no experience with, helping Hank out at the bar all the time. The men had bonded and Hank had no family. Neither did Damon really, besides me, our friends and now our daughter.

Damon handed Gabriella to Hank who held her like she might break. Once she was securely in Hank's arms, Damon spoke, "Meet your Grandpa." Hank nodded as his hard eyes got a little misty.

"Hey there small stuff." Hank greeted his newly appointed Granddaughter. She yawned and the three of us fell even more in love.

A few hours later my brother ran into the room. "Lena! You're ok!" I smiled and held up my finger telling him to keep it down as the new little princess was asleep on my chest.

"Wow, that's her?" he asked with a huge smile.

"Nah, she just stopped by for a drink." Damon quipped.

Jer rolled his eyes "Do you ever turn off?"

Damon looked up, mock deep in thought for a moment then answered, "No"

Jer laughed, "Good to see you too," they bro hugged and Jer went back to me and Gabriella. "Can I hold her?"

I smiled, "Of course," Carefully I rolled to my side and handed her to her uncle. "Hi uncle Jeremy," I spoke for her.

Jer looked lost in the gravitational pull that was this little angel. "She's so small. Is everything ok with her?"

I nodded, "She's great, she just needs to gain some weight."

Jer chuckled, "Sounds like someone else I know" he hinted at me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked amused.

"You've always been so damn skinny Lena, maybe she got your mutant metabolism."

"Very funny Jer." We passed Gabriella around some more and spoke about the dramatic scene that was her arrival into the world. Jer, noticing the ugly purple bruise on the side of my face, asked if I remembered anything from before I fell. It was all very fuzzy in retrospect, but I did remember just about everything. I told Jer about my leaving the subway, stopping in the baby boutique, going to the ATM and the mugging. When I got to that part, the memory made me feel anxious. Damon realizing this instantly, handed our daughter to me and sat on the bed, squeezing my knee. Holding her little warm body made me instantly calmer, it was the reassurance I needed that everything was alright.

Visiting hours were coming to a close and Damon handed Jeremy the keys to our place to crash. Damon would continue staying in the hospital with me and the baby until we were given the green light to take her home since the doctors said she was still to light in weight. I was still healing from a fractured skull and would like wise need some more time in the hospital. But all that mattered was that our daughter was here, healthy, and safe.

We were a family.


End file.
